|
Beginning work in 1719, the French constructed the coastal fortress of LOUISBOURG , 37km southeast of Sydney, to guard the Atlantic approaches to New France and salvage their imperial honour after the humiliation of the Treaty of Utrecht. The result was a staggeringly ostentatious stronghold covering a hundred acres and encircled by ten-metre-high stone walls; it took so long to build and was so expensive that Louis XV said he was expecting its towers to rise over the Paris horizon. However, Louisbourg was wildly ill-conceived: the humid weather stopped the mortar from drying, the fort was overlooked by a score of hillocks, and developments in gunnery had already made high stone walls an ineffective means of defence. As Charles Lawrence, the British governor, confirmed, "the general design of the fortifications is exceedingly bad and the workmanship worse executed and so disadvantageously situated that ? it will never answer the charge or trouble". And so it proved: Louisbourg was only attacked twice, but it was captured on both occasions, the second time by the celebra-ted British commander, James Wolfe, on his way to Quebec in 1758. A visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site (daily: June & Sept 9.30am-5pm; July & Aug 9am-7pm; $11) begins just 2km beyond the modern village at the Reception Centre, where there's a good account of the fort's history and its reconstruction in the 1960s. From here, a free shuttle bus runs to the fort, whose stone walls rise from the sea to enclose more than four dozen restored buildings, a mid-eighteenth-century fortress town set beneath a soaring church spire. There are powder magazines, forges, guardhouses, warehouses, barracks and, last but not least, the chilly abodes of the soldiers, all accompanied by costumed guides to provide extra atmosphere. It's an extraordinary reconstruction in a lovely coastal setting and particular care has been taken with the governor's apartments , which have been splendidly furnished according to the inventory taken after the death of Governor Duquesnel here in 1744. It's amazing the man hadn't died before: already minus a leg from early in his military career, Duquesnel's body was buried under the chapel floor and when it was exhumed in the 1960s the remains showed him to have been suffering from a bewildering variety of ailments from arthritis and arteriosclerosis through to dental abscesses. Allow at least a couple of hours to look round the fortress and sample the authentic refreshments that are available at the taverns and eating houses; the most sustaining food of all is the soldiers' bread (wheat and rye wholemeal), sold by the loaf at the King's Bakery . Stringing along the seashore down the bay from the fortress, the modern village of Louisbourg has a cheerful setting and several good places to stay . Choices include the Stacey House B&B , 7438 Main St (tel 733-2317 or 1-888/924-2242; $40-60; June-Oct), an attractive, high-gabled old home with just four guestrooms; the fiercely pink Cranberry Cove Inn , 12 Wolfe St (tel 733-2171 or 1-800/929-0222; $80-100; June to mid-Oct), a lavishly refurbished old house on the edge of the village on the way to the fort; and the Manse B&B , 10 Strathcona St (tel 733-3155; $40-60; April-Oct), which occupies a pleasant Victorian house down an alley just off Main Street, though its waterfront location is spoilt by an abandoned fish factory. There's a no-frills campsite , the Louisbourg Motorhome Park (tel 733-3631; mid-May to Oct), down by the harbour in the centre of the village. The tourist office , on Main Street (June & Sept Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; July & Aug daily 8am-8pm), has the complete lodgings list. Amongst several cafes and restaurants , the Grubstake , 1274 Main St (tel 733-2308; June-Oct), is recommended for its fish platters and home-baked pastries. Both the breakfast and dinner at the Cranberry Cove Inn are excellent.
Your Tip for Louisbourg
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Louisbourg - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Louisbourg - visit the main Louisbourg forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Louisbourg webguide section below! Thanks.
|
